Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has expressed the government's ambition to transform ShareTrip, Bangladesh's leading homegrown online travel platform, into a global travel-tech brand, signalling stronger policy support for startups seeking international expansion.

Speaking at the ICT Division's national startup event, ‘Youth, Startup and Bangladesh’s potential’, in Dhaka University on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said the government is formulating a national startup policy and exploring mechanisms to support Bangladeshi companies entering overseas markets.

He said the initiative would include assistance through Bangladesh's foreign missions and added that ShareTrip could become the first company to benefit from such a strategy.

"If we succeed with ShareTrip, we will be able to extend similar support to many other companies. ShareTrip has worked hard. It deserves this," the Prime Minister said.

His remarks are being viewed as a significant endorsement of Bangladesh's growing travel technology industry at a time when the government is seeking to diversify exports through innovation and digital services.

ICT Adviser Rehan Asad said he had advised ShareTrip to prioritise expansion into the Middle East, describing the region as offering the greatest growth potential for Bangladeshi travel-tech companies.

The discussion followed a keynote presentation by ShareTrip Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Sadia Haque, who outlined the company's growth journey and highlighted the policy reforms needed to build globally competitive technology enterprises.

"A startup's greatest need is not funding alone," Haque said. "It is understanding, business-friendly policy, and an ecosystem that treats startups as growth partners rather than rivals."

She urged the government to adopt a comprehensive National Startup and Innovation Policy with a single parent ministry, a dedicated champion institution and a continuous funding pipeline from seed stage to initial public offering (IPO).

For the tourism sector, she also proposed formal recognition of local online travel agencies (OTAs) alongside a seamless e-Visa system to strengthen Bangladesh's tourism and travel ecosystem.

Founded in 2019, ShareTrip has grown into Bangladesh's largest homegrown travel-tech platform, serving more than 2.7 million registered users. The company is also among a limited number of travel platforms worldwide directly integrated with the Nusuk ecosystem of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, enabling digital pilgrimage services for travellers.

ShareTrip's investors include Japanese conglomerate Marubeni and the government's Startup Bangladesh Limited.

Industry observers believe the Prime Minister's endorsement could significantly strengthen investor confidence in Bangladesh's digital travel sector while accelerating the international expansion of local travel technology companies. They say government-backed policy support for overseas market access, coupled with regulatory reforms, could help position Bangladeshi travel-tech firms as emerging regional players in the fast-growing global tourism and aviation marketplace.